How to Know if You Need Glasses

Someone holding a pair of black and blue glasses above a case

Have you ever wondered, “how to know when you need glasses,” “when do you need glasses,” or even “do I need glasses?” Believe it or not, these are incredibly common and good questions to ask yourself. Even if you’ve never experienced vision problems in the past (or never thought you needed glasses), it doesn’t mean glasses will never be in your future.

Many people start to need glasses as they age or as their eyes begin to change. It isn’t something to worry about and in fact, is quite normal for most people. If you’re experiencing changes in your sight or having thoughts of “I need glasses,” the first step is to consult your doctor about your eye health and take an eye exam. By this point, you’ll probably have experienced some symptoms of needing glasses, which will be a big indicator that your vision is shifting. We outlined below the top signs that suggest you need glasses to help you figure out what is going on with your vision. 

Here are 10 signs that you need glasses:

  1. Eye strain – If you feel the need to strain your eyes to see something, then this could be a symptom of needing glasses. You shouldn’t be straining while working on a computer, reading your texts, watching television, or looking at Instagram. 

  2. Frequent squinting – Squinting to see what your favorite book says is never fun. In addition to being annoying, squinting can point to a larger problem with your vision.

  3. Recurring headaches – If you’re suffering from unexplained and frequent headaches, the cause may be your vision. Headaches can sometimes be the result of poor vision and eye strain.

  4. Difficulty seeing at night – If seeing in the dark has become more difficult recently, then this may be a sign of you needing glasses. Also, if you see halos around light bulbs in your home or surrounding headlights while driving, this is another common symptom of worsening vision.

  5. Trouble switching from dark to light – Do you ever walk from a dark room into a well-lit room and have trouble adjusting your eyes? That is often a result of weakening eye muscles and can be a telling sign that your vision could be helped by glasses.

  6. Frequent double vision – If you see double when looking at objects or words, this can be another sign that you need glasses. Additionally, if images seem distorted (as if you are looking into a funhouse mirror), this is also a signal that your vision is worsening. Both of these conditions are strong signals that you may need glasses.

  7. Genetics – If your parents or siblings wear glasses, it could mean that you’ll need them too. Genetics is not the only factor to consider when discussing glasses, but it does play an important role. For example, if you have a farsighted parent, then you are more likely to be farsighted yourself.

  8. Trouble seeing distances – Do you ever have to pull a book or screen closer to your eyes to see what it says? If so, this is also the time to say, “I need eyeglasses.” Glasses can help with that vision problem so you will no longer have to be right up close to something to read it.

  9. Trouble seeing close up – On the other hand, if you have to move further away from an object in order to focus on it and see it clearer, then this is a time to schedule an eye exam.

  10. Wanting more light – The need for more light is often another common symptom of needing glasses. Glasses can improve your vision and therefore lessen your want for that extra light.

It can be challenging how to tell if you need glasses, but this list should help answer your questions about how do you know if you need glasses. All of these alone or combined can be signs you need glasses. If you experience any of these problems, we recommend consulting your eye doctor about your personal signs of needing glasses and having a thorough eye exam. This will confirm your vision problems and help you and your doctor come up with solutions that work best for you.

It is important to take care of your eyesight and to make sure your eyes are working well in order to make your life easier. This way you will no longer have to ask yourself “how do I know if I need glasses?”

There are 4 common conditions that can be helped by wearing prescription glasses:

  • Nearsightedness – When you can see better close up compared to when something is a far distance from you.

  • Farsightedness – This is the opposite of nearsightedness. It is when you can see better when something is further away than when it’s closer to your eyes.

  • Presbyopia – This is farsightedness as a direct result of aging. It is a gradual decline in one’s close vision.

  • Astigmatism – This is a circumstance where the cornea of the eye is irregularly shaped or the lens of the eye is slightly curved. It can make your vision blurry but is actually very common.

If you experience any of these conditions, then it can be easier how to tell if you need glasses. The symptoms and conditions listed above take most of the guessing out of how to know if you need glasses and they can help you determine what is going on with your vision. 

Man and woman side by side wearing glasses on a teal backgorund

However, many of these symptoms are not just relevant for prescription glasses. In fact, some of these symptoms that you need glasses could also be signs of Digital Eye Strain (sometimes referred to as Computer Vision Syndrome). Some of the symptoms of Digital Eye Strain overlap with common symptoms of needing glasses, such as blurry vision, headaches, eye strain, and squinting. These can result from staring at screens for multiple hours every day. In fact, even members of our Felix Gray team experienced this first hand. They thought they needed prescription glasses, but in fact, were experiencing symptoms of Digital Eye Strain. A lot of people experience these symptoms as a result of their job or by just living in today’s ultra digital world.

That’s why we at Felix Gray make Blue Light glasses to help combat the impactful effects of Digital Eye Strain. If you’re experiencing any of these symptoms, you should visit your doctor and have a complete eye exam. If your doctor says you don’t need prescription glasses but are suffering from symptoms of Digital Eye Strain you should definitely check out Felix Gray’s Blue Light filtering selection. Not only do Felix Gray glasses filter blue light but they also eliminate 99% of glare. If you feel you need glasses or might be suffering from Digital Eye Strain, then we recommend speaking to your doctor about your options. 

Now you don’t need to worry about “do I need glasses,” “how to know if I need glasses,” “how to tell if I need reading glasses,” or any bothersome questions like that because everyone can benefit from Felix Gray glasses with the non-prescription and prescription offerings. Once you make your color and frame selection, you can upload your prescription to our website or email it to our Customer Experience Team after placing your order. We also offer a 30-day risk-free return policy so you can test out your new glasses and decide if they are the best fit for you. If you find that they’re not right for you, don’t hesitate to return or exchange them.

Whether you’re looking for non-Rx or prescription lenses to solve your vision problems, Felix Gray has all of your glasses needs covered. Thankfully, you’ll never think “how do I know if I need glasses” or ask your friends “how do you know if you need glasses” again. 

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